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Jan. 8 Enrico Rava — On the Dance Floor Leave it to a 73-year-old Italian trumpeter to devise a fresh take on the King of Pop. It was only after Michael Jackson’s death that Rava paid any attention to his music; he became obsessed, and this album is in part the result. Recorded live in Rome with a big band and released on traditionally arty, austere jazz label ECM, it’s as barmy as a trip to Neverland Ranch, veering from schmaltz (Smile) to disco (Smooth Criminal) to exuberant jazz weirdness, and leaning heavily on later records HIStory and Invincible.

Jan. 15 A$AP Rocky — Long Live A$AP As befits the work of a man named after the so-called God MC, stakes are high for Rakim “A$AP Rocky” Mayers’s debut album. His 2011 mixtape Live.Love.A$AP, which showcased his fluid flow over atmospheric production, was feted by the likes of The New York Times, and he has pushed back the release date of Long Live A$AP twice in order to achieve what he feels is perfection. Producers range from Danger Mouse to Skrillex, and guest vocalists from Lana Del Rey to Drake, but the singles released so far — the crass posse track Fucking Problem and the invitingly weird, screwed-and-chopped solo effort Goldie — suggest he’s better off on his own. (Warning: Foul language in the song below.)

Jan. 15 Yo La Tengo — Fade On the first track of Popular Songs, the 2009 album by this veteran New Jersey trio, Ira Kaplan lamented, “There’ll be dreams that don’t come true.” Fade’s opener, Ohm, finds him singing, “Sometimes the good guys lose.” And yet Yo La Tengo aren’t so much resigned as comforting: After all, they keep producing albums of complex beauty, where fuzzy riffs lace feedback over gentle acoustic guitars, and motoric beats are balanced by percussion-laden grooves. Fade’s melodies are even more memorable than usual: Chalk one up for the good guys.

Jan 22 Camper Van Beethoven — La Costa Perdida The press release for CVB’s first album in seven years trumpets “their most cohesive album yet.” It’s a weird selling point for a band that made its name in the ’80s by being gloriously non-cohesive, juxtaposing ska, alt-country, psychedelia, unhinged Balkan foot-stomping folk, and grizzled rock, mixing the wistful, the wacky, and the enigmatically surreal. Lead single Northern California Girls sounds a little disconcertingly “mature,” but the snippets they’ve previewed of other songs reveal they haven’t lost their knack for winsome weirdness.

Jan. 29 Atoms for Peace — Amok While his regular outfit, Radiohead, is given to self-releasing albums unexpectedly and without a label, frontman Thom Yorke is taking a more trusted route with this side-project band, which features producer Nigel Godrich, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Beck drummer Joey Waronker, and frequent David Byrne collaborator Mauro Refosco on percussion. Not that the music itself should be predictable: lead single Default drifts woozily in from left field with a clattering electronic beat, and the album was apparently recorded during a three-day fully improvised jam session. If this sounds self-indulgent, fans wouldn’t want it any other way.

Jan. 29 Tegan & Sara — Heartthrob Ever since these Calgary twins emerged in the late-’90s, their music has been dubbed “indie” or “alternative” rock, but of late, they’ve contributed vocals to mainstream dance tracks by the likes of Tiestö and David Guetta. There’s a synth-pop tinge to the giddy new single Closer, which nonetheless retains their trademark bite – if they’re aiming for a wider audience, they’re likely not to lose their old one.

Feb. 5 Wayne Shorter — Without a Net Shorter, who turns 80 this year (and will be feted at this summer’s Montreal Jazz Festival), continues to tour and play jazz more exploratory than that of musicians young enough to be his grandchildren — and yet he records very little. His first album in eight years finds the former Miles Davis sideman returning to Blue Note, which released the 1960s work that defined his solo career. The album was recorded live (without a net, indeed) and features a 23-minute tone poem with woodwinds, as well as, uh, shorter pieces from his innovative quartet. Let’s hope the next one comes out before he’s 88.

Feb. 12 Azealia Banks — Broke with Expensive Taste The 21-year-old Harlem vocalist has a rude-but-clever flow when she raps and a sweet swagger when she sings. She’s already topped the NME’s Cool List, worked with Kanye West and Lady Gaga, been feted by Gwyneth Paltrow, and performed at Karl Lagerfeld’s house — all on the basis of her free mixtape Fantasea, with its dancehall-inflected beats. She’s told The Guardian that this, her debut effort, “will be a classic because it will give a true insight into the mind of an artist.” What do you know — she’s modest, too! (Warning: Foul language in the song below)

Feb. 19 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds — Push the Sky Away Having folded the priapic hard-rock/blues outfit Grinderman last year, the former fire-and-brimstone rocker returns with an album his press release bruits as “subtly beautiful,” with “naturalism and warmth.” In March, Cave plays with a symphony orchestra at the Sydney Opera House in his native Australia, and then the stately Massey Hall in Toronto. This Bad Seed is more and more resembling a good egg.

Feb. 26 Johnny Marr — The Messenger After The Smiths broke up in 1987 and singer Morrissey went solo, guitarist Johnny Marr found he’d rather be in a band — so he joined, in succession, The Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse and The Cribs. Even though he recorded the indifferently-received Boomslang as part of Johnny Marr & The Healers in 2003, this new effort, with its Britpop-leaning title track, is being billed as his solo debut — who says you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression?

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